Guarding the River of Time

Chapter 463 - 453: Its True Face, Escape!

"Wasn’t it still here this morning? Where did it run off to?"

"No idea! Wasn’t Ah Fei with your team? Third Brother, I remember it was with you, right?"

"It’s not with me! Isn’t Ah Fei under Big Brother’s care?"

"Ah Fei’s not with me either. In any case, regardless of whose care Ah Fei was under, now, immediately, hurry up and find it!"

Big Brother Groundhog shouted at the other four little ones.

The master rarely comes to inspect the results, and now this huge blunder, it’s really embarrassing.

Quickly, the four little ones scattered to search for Ah Fei’s whereabouts.

Big Brother Groundhog came in front of Su Mu, chattering to him through a telepathic link.

After listening, Su Mu furrowed his brows.

So it was that Little Sheep Ah Fei?

Su Mu had a lasting impression of Ah Fei, the most capable member under the five small ones, a top talent level character, who could consistently find one or two Great Medicine seeds a day. The expansion of the medicinal garden these past years would attribute at least three-tenths to Ah Fei!

All others account for seven-tenths, while Little Sheep Ah Fei alone holds the remaining three-tenths, which shows how valuable it is.

Now, Su Mu was somewhat reluctant, having second thoughts.

But... he’d already promised, and couldn’t go back on his word.

Li Qiye is quite a character, worthy of making friends with.

The dilemma is whether to hand over Ah Fei to befriend Li Qiye or keep Ah Fei by his side to work for him.

If he hides and doesn’t hand over Ah Fei, not only would he be deceiving Li Qiye, but if Li Qiye found out it was hidden, a conflict might arise.

After briefly weighing the pros and cons, Su Mu had an answer in his heart.

Regardless of Ah Fei’s abilities, keeping someone else’s important Spirit Pet is unethical. If his Spirit Pet were imprisoned, he would try to rescue it, too.

It’s human nature.

So, better to hand it over, not be blinded by immediate gains. Having one more friend is better than having one more enemy.

....

The four little ones turned the backyard upside down, but couldn’t find any trace of Little Sheep Ah Fei.

Seeing this, Big Brother Groundhog joined the search.

"Damn it! Where did it go? I saw it this morning, and now there’s not even a shadow!"

"I think Ah Fei’s been spoiled by us! A bit lazy usually is okay, given its outstanding ability, but now during this crucial moment, it’s nowhere to be found!"

"Enough with the scolding, just hurry up and search. There must be something very important the master wants to announce, or else it wouldn’t cause such a commotion."

"Hey, Big Brother, you guys come over here, look at this!"

Soon, the five little ones gathered around a ground hole at a corner of the medicinal garden.

The five little ones peered at the ground hole, finding it deep and bottomless, with no idea where it might lead.

"Hey, this is fur from Ah Fei."

Little Squirrel picked up a white wool strand at the hole entrance, examined it, and confirmed it bore Ah Fei’s scent.

"Right, the wool in master’s hand seems to be from Ah Fei as well!"

"Exactly! That’s it!"

"Looks like... the master’s main aim is definitely to find Ah Fei."

"Could Ah Fei have run away..."

The five looked at the ground hole, faces full of concern.

Due to Ah Fei’s special situation, they didn’t leave any mark on it. It’s generally very free, mainly due to its excellent performance, it’s never been much controlled.

Like a top sales rep within a company, sleeping on the job only to have the boss tuck them in!

Ah Fei had such a presence.

"What do we do... Could Ah Fei really have run away?"

"You’ve seen Ah Fei’s skills, so fast, with many tricks, if it really ran away, we couldn’t catch it ourselves...."

"I think it shouldn’t run.... In this Ten Thousand Realms turmoil, staying by the master’s side is the best choice, the safest place, unless Ah Fei’s lost its mind, it’s unlikely to flee."

"That’s uncertain, Ah Fei has a quirky personality, pulling something like this is understandable."

.....

"Alright! Stop arguing!" Big Brother Groundhog interjected, halting the four little ones’ debate.

"No matter the reason for Ah Fei’s escape, it’s a fact. Now the most important thing is to find it, but Ah Fei’s outstanding abilities mean we can’t quickly locate it."

"Let’s first report the situation to the master."

....

Soon, the five little ones reported Ah Fei’s escape to Su Mu.

Upon hearing the news, Su Mu furrowed his brows even tighter.

Under the guidance of the five little ones, Su Mu approached the ground hole, staring into its depths, as his Divine Sense extended.

Suddenly, he caught a trace of Ah Fei, running swiftly within the tunnel, and this tunnel seemed to lead somewhere in the Long River.

Then he began channeling his Cultivation Technique, with a sweep of his hand, a surge of Spiritual Power moved through the tunnel towards Ah Fei to seize it.

Huh?

So fast?

As Su Mu’s ethereal hand nearly grasped Ah Fei, it suddenly accelerated, escaping a significant distance in an instant.

Seeing this, Su Mu’s interest peaked, curious about the Spirit Pet that Li Qiye chased tirelessly, wondering about its true capabilities!

He exerted force, the ethereal hand quickly reached behind Ah Fei.

With a sudden grab, it caught Ah Fei directly.

Seeing this, Su Mu smiled, thinking its abilities weren’t extraordinary.

At the moment of capture, Little Sheep Ah Fei seemed to activate a portal-like trick, instantly slipping out of Su Mu’s grasp, putting another major distance between them.

At this instant, Su Mu’s smile froze.

Indeed, quite a skill there, no wonder it’s the best worker under his command, such escape tricks, indeed unusual.

Su Mu didn’t hold back anymore, releasing his full aura, the ethereal hand solidified, emanating a faint golden glow, quickly catching up to Ah Fei.

After capturing it, without giving any escape chance, strings of golden runes unfurled from his palm, enclosing Little Sheep, forming a "prison," firmly confining it.

No matter how much it struggled, escape was impossible, detectable were its frantic emotions.

After capture, Su Mu retracted his hand, pulling it back.

A few breaths later, a cluster of golden light emerged from the tunnel.

Seeing this scene, the five little ones behind him gasped, duly impressed by their master, who swiftly brought Ah Fei back.

If they had to catch it themselves, who knows how long it would have taken.

As the golden light dissipated, Su Mu’s gaze fell on Little Sheep Ah Fei, and he too was stunned.

Not only Su Mu, but the five little ones beside him were also equally astonished.